The 2026 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional features Alabama facing familiar opponents, including USC Upstate and Southeastern Louisiana. Concerns arise over the selection of teams with losing records in the tournament.
Key points
2026 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional features Alabama softball
Alabama faces USC Upstate and Southeastern Louisiana again
Concerns about selection of teams with losing records
Alabama's past performance in 2024 Tuscaloosa Regional
NCAA Selection Committee criticized for match-up fairness
April 30, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabamaâs Jocelyn Briski pitches at Rhoads Stadium as the Crimson Tide hosted South Carolina. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
April 30, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabamaâs Jocelyn Briski pitches at Rhoads Stadium as the Crimson Tide hosted South Carolina. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Hmm. I am having deja vu all over again. That could be because two of Alabamaâs opponents this year were also in the Tuscaloosa Regional in 2024. They sure arenât match-ups suitable for a top seed.
Two Mays ago, Alabama struggled to defeat USC Upstate in the 2024 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional opener, 1-0. Next, the Tide had to go nine innings before topping Southeastern Louisiana, 6-3. The clincher was no problem when Bama throttled SELA 12-2 in a five inning run rule win. But that was then and this is now.
In theory, the top seed is supposed to get the easiest set of opponents. But it feels like the NCAA Selection Committee did not do a lot of homework. Three teams in the tournament have losing records of whom got auto-bids due to winning their conferenceâs tournaments. A few others are barely over .500. NONE of them are playing in the Tuscaloosa Regional.
South Dakota (20-34-1) Summit League, 0.370 winning percentage, Lincoln Regional â (No. 4 Nebraska)
Binghamton (20-25) America East, 0.444 winning percentage, Norman Regional â (No. 3 Oklahoma)
Fordham (27-26) Atlantic 10, 1 game over .500, Fayetteville Regional â (No. 5 Arkansas)
Charleston (30-28) CAA, 2 games over .500, Athens Regional â (No. 10 Georgia)
Northern Kentucky (26-23) Horizon, 3 games over .500, Knoxville Regional â (No. 7 Tennessee)
UConn (31-26) Big East, 5 games over .500, College Station Regional â (No. 15 Texas A&M)
Q&A
What teams are competing in the 2026 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional?
The teams competing include Alabama, USC Upstate, and Southeastern Louisiana.
Why are there concerns about the selection of teams in the Tuscaloosa Regional?
Concerns arise because several teams with losing records received auto-bids, suggesting a lack of thorough evaluation by the NCAA Selection Committee.
How did Alabama perform in the 2024 Tuscaloosa Regional?
In the 2024 Tuscaloosa Regional, Alabama struggled initially, defeating USC Upstate 1-0 and Southeastern Louisiana 6-3 before winning decisively 12-2 in the clincher.
What is the significance of the 2026 Tuscaloosa Regional for Alabama softball?
The 2026 Tuscaloosa Regional is significant as it tests Alabama against familiar opponents while raising questions about the fairness of their seeding and match-ups.
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It is unclear what the NCAAâs lame explanation for these pairings is. Binghamton, Wagner, and Fordham are all in New York. Norman, Austin, and Fayetteville are much further destinations than Tuscaloosa from those campuses. So, it canât be about proximity. Instead of opponents worthy of traveling to the home campus of a number one overall seed, Alabama got some solid programs who were not flukes in winning their conference.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (46-14)
The Lions are heading to their third straight NCAA Tournament. They were 47-15, 50-16, 46-14 in seasons 2024-2026. SELA started out 2026 with losses to Clemson and South Alabama in Clearwater but would later upset Oregon 4-2. However, they turned around and lost to Louisiana Tech in the home opener, 6-1. The Lions had few problems with their Southland Conference schedule (24-3) but also played the part of midweek fodder for Texas (L, 7-2 in Austin) and Oklahoma (L, 9-1 run rule in Norman, OK). They are the Southland Conference regular season champions but were eliminated from their Tournament. It seems the NCAA Selection Committee figured their resume was strong enough to include them in the Big Dance without an auto-bid.
BELMONT (40-14)
The Bruins might actually be better than SELA. They are back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Softball Tournament Champions and also took the regular season crown for the MVC. In the first weekend of the season, they split two games with UGA in Athens. Later in February, the ursine nine split a pair with Mississippi State is Starkville. In March, they scared the bejeezus out of Tennessee with a 1-0 loss. The common denominator in these two wins and near-win is two time MVC Pitcher of the Year Maya Johnson. The Redshirt Senior (sorry, transfer portal) is a fantastic 27-2 with a nation-leading 0.66 ERA over 201.0 innings. And, oh yeah. Sheâs a lefty. Should Johnson face the Crimson Tide, she will be a formidable opponent.
ALABAMA GAME 1: USC UPSTATE (36-21)
The Spartans are far from elite, but they are no slouches. They three-peated as the Big South Tournament Champs [no fluke here]. They finished second in the regular season to Winthrop but defeated the Eagles in the conference tournament.
Outfielder Taliyah Thomas was crowned Big South Player of the Year. The senior has a .418 batting average, 13 doubles, seven home runs, and 48 RBI. Her slugging percentage is .615 and all-important on-base percentage stands at .474.
Sophia Kardatzkemissed the first 28 games of the 2026 season due to a knee injury but came back to play 28 games and hit .404 with six home runs, and 27 RBI. Her slugging percentage is .674 with an on-base percentage is .466. Carson Shaw (.356 BA, 5 HR, 36 RBI, .454 OB) contributes as well. That is the top three in the USCU order and will be vital to get out.
As a team, the BBs are hitting .334 (.404 OB) but have hit only 39 homers. They are tied at 136th in the nation in that category with teams like Army, Evansville, and something called Queens University of Charlotte. Thomas leads the team with seven round-trippers.
Pitching is another story. Team ERA is⊠Yeesh⊠4.24. Maddie Drerup (20-13) is the âbestâ of the staff with a 3.26 ERA over 195.2 innings. Assume she will start against the Crimson Tide.
ALABAMA (49-7)
It sure would have been nice to round the win total off to 50 last weekend. But the Tide laid a big fat egg against Texas after destroying Arkansas and Florida. It is enough to make one feel like they did not come into the SECT finale with the right mindset. Hopefully, the Tide will correct their demeanor come first pitch.
USC-Upstate should not be a problem. SELA doesnât scare me too much. Maya Johnson chills me to the bone.
WEATHER
It should be nice days in T-town with no rain, but highs are expected in the mid to upper 80s. Bring sunscreen.
SCHEDULE
Tuscaloosa Regional
Fri, May 15
Game 1: noon/1 pm | Alabama vs. USC Upstate
Game 2: 2:30/3:30 pm | Southeastern Louisiana vs. Belmont
Sat, May 16
Game 3: 1 pm/2 pm| Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 4: 3:30/4:30 pm | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 5: 6pm/7 pm | Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3
Game 6: noon/1 pm | Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5
Game 7 (if necessary): 2:30/3:30 pm | Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 5
Can we talk about this Game 1 time? NOON ON A FRIDAY FOR THE NO. 1 SEED. WTF?
HOW TO WATCH⊠ALLEGEDLY
This one definitely qualifies as âallegedlyâ. Bamaâs first game is definitely on SECN. But after that, all bets are off. Assume ESPN and all their sister networks are going to go for the best/most intriguing match-ups. There is also competition for air time on the Mouse from the PGA Championship, NHL playoff games, and SEC baseball. So, the Tide games could be anywhere from ESPN to SECN+ streaming. Stay tuned.
ANNOUNCERS
Missouri grad Nate Gatter is the play-by-play announcer. Former Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott will be on color commentary. What? Kaylee Tow had other plans??
